النَّحْلُ فِي لُبْنَانَ

هَذَا عَسَلٌ مِنْ لُبْنَانَ. النَّحْلُ يَصْنَعُهُ مِنْ رَحِيقِ الزُّهُورِ. وَيَصْنَعُهُ أَيْضًا مِنْ أَشْجَارِ السِّنْدِيَانِ وَالْأَرْزِ. فِي لُبْنَانَ جِبَالٌ كَثِيرَةٌ. يَضَعُ نَحَّالٌ خَلَايَاهُ حَوْلَ قَرْيَتِهِ. حَوْلَ الْقَرْيَةِ أَشْجَارُ سِنْدِيَانٍ كَثِيرَةٌ. وَفِيهَا نَبَاتَاتٌ بَرِّيَّةٌ مِثْلُ الزَّعْتَرِ. هُوَ لَا يَنْقُلُ الْخَلَايَا كَثِيرًا. تَأْخُذُ النَّحْلَةُ الرَّحِيقَ مِنَ الزَّهْرَةِ. ثُمَّ تَرْجِعُ بِهِ إِلَى الْخَلِيَّةِ. فِي الْخَلِيَّةِ يَصِيرُ الرَّحِيقُ عَسَلًا. يَضَعُ النَّحْلُ الْعَسَلَ فِي بُيُوتٍ صَغِيرَةٍ مِنَ الشَّمْعِ. هَذَا الْعَسَلُ طَعَامُ النَّحْلِ فِي الشِّتَاءِ. لِلْعَسَلِ أَلْوَانٌ مُخْتَلِفَةٌ. عَسَلُ السِّنْدِيَانِ غَامِقٌ. وَهُوَ حُلْوٌ قَلِيلًا. وَالنَّاسُ فِي لُبْنَانَ يُحِبُّونَهُ. أَحْيَانًا يَصِيرُ الْعَسَلُ جَامِدًا. هَذَا شَيْءٌ طَبِيعِيٌّ. نَحَّالُونَ آخَرُونَ يَنْقُلُونَ الْخَلَايَا مَرَّاتٍ فِي السَّنَةِ. فِي أَوَّلِ السَّنَةِ يَضَعُونَهَا عِنْدَ أَشْجَارِ الْبُرْتُقَالِ. وَفِي الصَّيْفِ يَضَعُونَهَا فِي الْجِبَالِ. وَفِي الْخَرِيفِ يَصْنَعُ النَّحْلُ عَسَلَ الْأَرْزِ. الْعَسَلُ طَعَامٌ قَدِيمٌ جِدًّا. وَفِي لُبْنَانَ الْيَوْمَ أَنْوَاعٌ كَثِيرَةٌ مِنْهُ. وَنَحَّالُ الْقَرْيَةِ يَتَذَكَّرُ خَلَايَا جَدِّهِ مِنَ الطِّينِ.

This is honey from Lebanon. Bees make it from the nectar of flowers. They also make it from oak and cedar trees. In Lebanon there are many mountains. A beekeeper puts his hives around his village. Around the village there are many oak trees. And there are wild plants there, like thyme. He does not move the hives much. The bee takes the nectar from the flower. Then it goes back with it to the hive. In the hive, the nectar becomes honey. The bees put the honey in small cells of wax. This honey is the bees’ food in winter. Honey has different colours. Oak honey is dark. And it is mildly sweet. And people in Lebanon love it. Sometimes honey becomes solid. This is natural. Other beekeepers move the hives several times a year. Early in the year they put them by orange trees. In summer they put them in the mountains. In autumn the bees make cedar honey. Honey is a very old food. And in Lebanon today there are many kinds of it. And the village beekeeper remembers his grandfather’s clay hi